Journey Through Twin Peaks

With just over two months left until that TV show we liked comes back into style, there’s no doubt plenty of us will be wanting to refresh our memory of the plot, characters and general weirdness of the original Twin Peaks, given its been over 25 years since the series premiered. If you’re one of those people, I highly recommend the 4-part video series Journey Through Twin Peaks, embedded below, which analyzes the narrative cycle of Twin Peaks, from the pilot right through to the movie Fire Walk With Me.

Written, narrated, and edited by Joel Bocko, the series takes an in-depth look at the plot of the original series, with interesting asides and insights – including some of the more occult influences – without going too deep (and with Twin Peaks, you can go deeeep down the rabbit hole if you want to).

Obviously, spoilers, so if you’re new to Twin Peaks and are planning on watching the original series, this will give everything away!

Part 1, “Harmony of the Dark Woods” explores the pilot through the season 2 premiere, examining how the show perfectly balances its three core elements: Laura Palmer, the town of Twin Peaks, and FBI Agent Dale Cooper.

Part 2, “The Center Cannot Hold” explores episodes 9-17 (the first third of season 2) with particular focus on the character of Laura Palmer, the revelation of her killer, and the show’s mistakes in resolving her mystery.

Part 3, “The Whole Damned Town” explores episodes 17-29, the second half of the series in which the show tries to move beyond the Laura Palmer investigation. Along the way, we will pause to examine the show’s colorful ensemble cast, the “spirit” of the show (through its style and media reception), the character arc of Agent Cooper (as well as David Lynch’s and Mark Frost’s differing conceptions of him), and the evolution of the Twin Peaks mythology, including the influence of Theosophy.

Part 4, “Laura is the One,” explores the 1992 prequel feature film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, including its controversial reputation and the character arc of Laura Palmer, as well as the “afterlife” of Twin Peaks, including the show’s impact on David Lynch’s later films.